Bashar Al Shroogi, Director of Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, stated "'7' captures the essence of Cuadro - our represented artists and our resident artists work is exhibited side by side. I wanted to present independent solo shows, to give the artists the flexibility to work freely. In fact, a number of the exhibitions are curated by the artists themselves. I am proud to be showing work that is the result of our current residency and am excited to see Ayman Yossri Daydban's site-specific installation." For the first time, all 7 artists will also be present at Cuadro to discuss their works, influences and the importance of art in the Middle East.
The showcasing art works span a wealth of mediums and encompass both established and emerging artists, who are creating waves across the region. The artists are:
1. Manal Al Dowayan
2. Jaffar Al Oraibi,
3. Athier
4. Nadine Kanso
5. Roberto Lopardo
6. Aidan Salakhova
7. Ayman Yossri Daydban
In her ""If I Forget You, Do Not Forget Me" series, Manal Al Dowayan explores the personal lives of the generation that built the oil industry in Saudi Arabia. The series goes beyond nostalgia and trends closer to contemporary documentary practices. Al Dowayan gives depth to their characters, capturing the essence of who they were and the impact they had through a series of silver gelatin photographic installations and video works.
Jaffar Al Oraibi navigates social phenomenon of the idea of the contrived, deliberate public persona through his series of paintings. His works attempt to visualize the conflict of interest that men and women face when presenting themselves as social beings as opposed to private individuals. The paintings attempt a reading at the true self through the juxtaposition of the human figure with symbolic representations of objects that carry deeply rooted meanings of gender construction.
Athier's Circle series references the form and deconstruction of the circle in Islamic architecture as a symbol of tawhid (divine unity). The patterns that run through his opposing diptychs are taken from the Minaret in Jam, Afghanistan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Mustansiriyah Madrasah in Baghdad, Iraq, one of the oldest centers of learning in history. These two forms will never meet, yet mirror one another in their disconnect from modernity.
Nadine Kanso showcases her installation, entitled "Aah Ya Arab" ("Oh, Arabs") wherein Kanso's metaphor of a table and the revolutionary language that accent it subvert traditional associations of the safety and intimacy of private domestic life. Kanso's table is unnerving, as she moves radical political slogans off the street literally into the fabric of the home.
Visual artist, Roberto Lopardo will be presenting new iterations from his Mappings series. Each Mappings project encompasses a 24-hour photographic performance that results in a collection of 1,440 photographs. Beyond the overpowering literal visual presence of each photographic installation, the Mappings project invites viewers to witness the formation of mini-documentaries, hierarchical classifications, environmental landscapes, public and private portraiture; the revelation of the found, decisive, sublime and ethereal moment; and finally the in-exhaustive repetition of the visual cliché.
Aidan Salakhova explores gender issues in her "Persian Miniatures" series through the lens of her own background as a woman of Azerbaijani origin who grew up witnessing the decline of the Soviet Union. Her minimalistic monochromatic drawings and paintings combine Eastern Islamic influences and Western feminist convictions.
Ayman Yossri Daydban's flag installation will be created during his residency at Cuadro. He explores the symbolism of the flag and its paradoxical ability to create a collective identity through division. He folds large sheets of metal into the shape of the Palestinian flag, with its recognizable triangle. The deliberately unfinished execution is touchingly fragile, produced without the precision of welding, but rather using his body to create folds and creases.
Date: Monday March 19th, 2012
Time: 19:00
Venue: Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Building 10, DIFC Gate Village
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